General Chat

Morning all.. We have lovely mild weather..though they say 30c on Sunday..yuck...
Thanks for the info on Fred Edith.. Poor Fred, he does work hard on the house.. will look nice though when he has finished..take it easy Fred and take care of that back.. <3

Planted out my toms today.. and some more chillis ..hope my cherry toms sprout soon as I have space waiting for them to.

Les.. Slow down girl.. you will bust a foofle valve..

Well John has now been assessed by the Motor Neurone Group at the hospital and he has now got a walker to help his legs and delay the spasticity that is affecting his legs. We saw a physio and a Occupational Theratist and spent 2 hours with them putting John through his paces,,Cost,,nothing..all free.. and a walker thrown in for a lend for free also..cant complain about that ..PLS and Motor Neurone Desease are much the same except that PLS is slower working than MND, and a person usually dies of something else..or complications ...

Having a quiet day today as the week has been rather hectic..Keep warm you lot oop in the cold lands,, and Fred hope you are feeling better soon..

Love Mary xxx <3

Snow forecast here for tonight. The heat was not working in the Glenwood Centre yesterday and it was blurry cold. Sold no aprons...none!! Thinking of taking up another hobby, something more lucrative like brain surgery!! :-D

G'day all Fred Is back [pardon the pun ] ,lol.still a little sore but managing to get around again,at last .
The replacement cooker arrived at 7-30 last night ,but i was too tired to do anything with it at that time of night ,so signed for it ,and settled in my chair ,and nursed Hissy who does NOT like fireworks in any shape or form .
I fed her an hour early and kept her indoors all evening ,remembering last year when she freaked out ,and wouldnt go outside for two days ,poor mite,so ,she had plenty of strokes and petting to help her settle,and she was okay this morning.
I managed to get down on my knees this morning and connect the cooker to the hard wiring plug ,and then waited for the son to arrive to do the sliding into place ,me ? no way ,the last attempt was too painful for an old fogey like me ,lol :-|.
This double oven is going to save us quite a bit in bills ,being a lot smaller than the main oven ,but still big enough to get a small joint and roasties in ,the main fan oven will be kept for company and times like Christmas ,when the extra space is needed for turkeys ,and the like.
both the son and i repaired to the garden with the coffees once we started the ovens up for the first time ,needing to vacate the kitchen while the fumes from the ceramic linings cooked ,and burned off the fumes ,which attack the lung linings,they are ideal though ,no more oven cleaning for us ,wack the temperature right up ,and bingo ,job done .
What a lovely day it is ,the weather teasing me because i can't get out there to do any digging ,grrrrrrr ,but i darn't risk that for a couple of weeks ,i feel like a kid who has had his ice cream stolen ,he he :-( .
I have just taken the last of the pics of the finished kitchen as well ,so ,i will load them up later on and send them off.
What a Bummer Les' all that work ,the travel on top ,and no sales at all,no wonder you are a bit teed off ,i for sure would be too
Nice to hear you are getting some better news Mary ,as regards treatment.makes a lot of difference when you don't have to pay for everything,and hopefully the doc's may be able to sloe the disease down a good bit.,,it the temperatures you are heading for ,you may even get more tomatoes than you know what to do with
Any spare send Edith's way ,she will know what to do with them ,i'll be bound.
Off now to see to the dinner ,leaving the missus to drool over her new kitchen,he he ,she asked about the hall and stairs last night in bed ,he he ,some women ,no pleasing 'em :-| .
I ain't going to tell her about me laying a new carpet after i have finished the hall and stairs ,after last night ,rotten ,that's me ,i will pull the carpet up ,making a mess of it ,saying i will worry about putting it back later ,then ,when she has stewed a couple of days ,i will take her shopping at a carpet store to calm her down again ,he he :-D.
Back later peeps.Fred.xxx

Morning, Welcome back Fred you were missed. Now take it easy and don't do any more harm. Your back is a needed part of the body :-D
Our weather is staying gorgeous for this time of year, so I got the lights etc. out on my balcony. Much easier than putting them up at -30 with icy fingers.
Having a quiet Sunday for a change so will go and have some breakfast and then read a new book.
Do take it easy Fred see you back here soon. Liz maybe you should tie him down for part of the day :-)
Bye for now Edith <3

Evening to all ,from a darned cold Newcastle upon Tyne where the heating is fired up ,and the de humidifier is ready to go.
I need to go to B & Q Wednesday to buy three heavy foil reflectors to place behind the radiators to reflect the heat back into the room.as recommended by my heating wallah.and that is the lot until the spring apart from house work and cooking .
I am not counting the kitchen kick boards because my son is going to do those for me, i am now a man of relaxed laid back lazy days for a fortnight ,until i clean out the greenhouse ready for the return of the warmer weather [roll on ] he he
That's a good idea Edith ,getting those lights up in plenty of time ,before it gets so cold you have icicles instead of fingers .lol.
We arn't going out at all tomorrow ,two batches of soup to make ,one lot Parsnip ,and one mushroom seeing as we picked up a large load of both in Morrison's early this afternoon,both reduced for a quick sale ,a kilo bag of each for 50 P so we got two bags of both.
Off to make my tea now a nice toasted sandwich ,made with grated cheese mixed in horseradish ,with some nice carvery ham ,finely chopped ,yum].
Catch you later folks ,stay warm all,apart from our Mary ,who will be wishing for some nice cool weather by now :-D Fred.xxxx

Morning all, Finally it is showing signs of winter. A light skiff of snow on the ground and a chilly wind. As usual Edith is in trouble !!! I was a little too happy to see the cooler weather and a few folks were not amused :-D
I love the winter and as I live in an area where it is snowy and cold for 7 months of the year I sit back and really enjoy it. I know "she's nuts" is a
comment made just out of my hearing and I sit there with a smile on my face.
To cuddle in with a good book and a bowl of home made soup is a treat that cannot be enjoyed on a hot sunny beach. Therewith ends my sermon for to-day. :-)
Glad to hear you are taking it easy Fred. The pics are great and the new kitchen should be a treat to work in.
Mary,you are a busy lady. Don't overdo it!!Glad you are getting some help with John. Any toms yet? A fresh tom sandwich would taste very good about now.
:-D
Hope Les comes out from under the pile of aprons soon, just to say hello if nothing else.
Time for my breakfast so bye for now from a happy "cool" Canadian.
Edith <3

Morning all, Finally it is showing signs of winter. A light skiff of snow on the ground and a chilly wind. As usual Edith is in trouble !!! I was a little too happy to see the cooler weather and a few folks were not amused :-D
I love the winter and as I live in an area where it is snowy and cold for 7 months of the year I sit back and really enjoy it. I know "she's nuts" is a
comment made just out of my hearing and I sit there with a smile on my face.
To cuddle in with a good book and a bowl of home made soup is a treat that cannot be enjoyed on a hot sunny beach. Therewith ends my sermon for to-day. :-)
Glad to hear you are taking it easy Fred. The pics are great and the new kitchen should be a treat to work in.
Mary,you are a busy lady. Don't overdo it!!Glad you are getting some help with John. Any toms yet? A fresh tom sandwich would taste very good about now.
:-D
Hope Les comes out from under the pile of aprons soon, just to say hello if nothing else.
Time for my breakfast so bye for now from a happy "cool" Canadian.
Edith <3

Hi oh cold loving one ,he he,can't say as i love the winter ,but ,hey ,you can't have it all just when you wan't it .lol.
I am set up for the worst the weather can throw at me ,so let it snow ,sleet ,or whatever ,i don't care much .
We stayed indoors today ,and have made two huge pans of soup ,one with mushrooms ,and one with parsnips ,and both have been blitzed now ,ready to go into the containers and hence into the freezer .
Prepared this time we are .a short French stick at the ready ,soup on the agenda for tea yum,and three rows of leeks and tons of tatties ,lined up and waiting to go ,snow and be darned He He. :-).
Lost the power twice earlier ,hmmmmm ,signs of things to come perhaps? :-| .
See you later all ,off to scoff some you know what.Fred.xxx

Hey Fred, great pics. I absolutely love that oven. I was in love with my gas stove when I got it, 5 burners and all but the glow has faded and we are left with a slow oven and only 4 burners working. We paid about $1700 for this thing so will have to battle on with it.

Edith snow was forecast here but for the moment it has missed us except up on the mountains. I am momentarily not sewing aprons, did not sell enough to warrant sewing more. So now I am back at my genealogy.

Last night I made a huge lasagne so will not have to cook tonight. Might buy a foccacia to go with it tonight. I really need to get into the soup mode. Norm is not much of a soup eater so it is left for me to eat. Also I have found over the last year that carrots in soup do not freeze well and are always mushy once defrosted...anyone else experience that?? I did another roast of beef in the slow cooker over the weekend and it was yummy but again while the meat cooks the veggies get a bit soggy. I am thinking next time I will put the spuds and carrots in whole, maybe they will fare better. BTW Fred I loath parsnips, yukk!! so no parsnip soup for me. I think my favourite soup is split pea. Hmmm! maybe I will make a pot today.

We are having municiple elctions on November 19 and so have got a wee bit involved in that, supporting my favourite folks...time for a change here. This little city is just sliding into an abyss. I have an idea (tourism) and am looking for a few folks to join me with that...we'll see.

Hi Mary, waves.

Have a few errands to do so will love and leave you for now. Lesxx

Morning all ,and watch your backs you Canadians in the north ,big storm heading your way into Alaska ,which may drift your way,hope you all have your woollies out ,just in case ,all exept Edith ,who will more than likely be waiting in the garden with her swim suit on ,he he ;-).
Les ' ,if our cookers cost anything like yours ,i would be cooking on a campfire ,the range cooker i showed you from Currys cost about £750 ,and the gas version was a tad cheaper ,pity i can't ship you a new one out there,but you never know ,a lottery win ,and one will be on the way :-D.
Have you tried the leek and potato soup yet ? seems to be a well loved recipe in most places,both on the continent ,and in this country.
Yes ,a slow cooker does not take kindly to small chopped veggies i'm afraid,i found out the hard way the first time i tried our electric cooker ,it was a very expensive way to make veggie soup ,lol,though i must admit ,it was very tasty ,and nice and thick :-| .
I found that some potato's are no good for that style of cooking as well ,as they tend to go to mush in a very few minutes ,whole ,or not.
Nothing much on here today ,a little clearing up and a trip to B & Q to get those radiator reflectors i mentioned,hope they are as good as they are cracked up to be ,we could do with all the help we can get with the price of gas and electric over here . :-0 .
Just seen too ,that the French company that took over our water board ,are going to shove the prices up next year by 30% ,while the French get theirs much cheaper ,looks like the brit's are being ripped off yet again,by Brussels ,who are letting the froggies get away with it yet again.
They are already doing it with the eon.electric company that supplies all the countries electricity,no wonder britain is called the Rip off country ,don't know what the hell our Government is thinking of ,what a load of pocket lining greedy politicians we have to guide us on our journey to the poor house :-P.
Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend ,tis nearly here folks ,and so is the big day when the old fella in the red suit comes out to play,he he .Catch you later peoples ,Fred.xxxx

Got a phone call yesterday to do another show this weekend at Coombs, the place with the goats on the roof. I am pretty excited about this....all new customers. So I am busy yet again.

Normie is making his world famous spaghetti sauce so more italian tonight but at least I won't have to cook..
Later Lesxx

Hope all goes well with your new venue ,Les' and hope that this time you sell loads of aprons to make up for the last fiasco ,which sounded like a real bummer.
I like the sound of the spaghetti too ,i think i could well do some for tonight ,one of my favourite dishes ,after a nice green curry,which i may well do for the weekend.
Hope this improvement in the weather here last.s until the weekend so that i can get these kick boards measured and cut to finish this kitchen off ,can't use a jig saw indoors because of the dust it kicks up.
Talking of dust ,i have to get some dust masks in ,ready for the demolition starting over the road ,which i'm hoping they will have the sense to start straight away ,while the cold and rain will keep the dust down to manageble levels ,it's bad enough for the missus as it is ,without getting it indoors every time you open the door when you come in from shopping.
Hope you are all looking forward to the weekend ,no matter what you are doing,and hope the road conditions are good for the intrepid seamstress ,who will be out and about in it :-D.
Catch you later all ,Fred.xxxx

Wheeeeeeeee, Edith is over the moon!!!!! The snow has arrived and our

world is all white. Warm temp , with no wind ,ready for a short walk :-D :-D

Good luck with your sale Les.

Take it easy with the carpentry Fred can't have you on the injured list again :-|

Must go and get out doors. Edith <3

Hi everyone.. We have had some hot weather and I am so looking forward to winter again,,,and summer hasn't even started yet.. :-DMy toms are a bit small at the moment but are looking good..had about 2 big meals of silver beet and still more to come.. :-) all this hot weather makes it hard with the watering of the pots so hoping for some rain,,though its not looking good at the moment..
Helped the dentist with his retirement fund yesterday,,gosh they know hot to charge..
Les Hope you do better at this show ,, and put a sign up to say they make great Christmas presents..good luck..
Edith Can you send me some snow .. :-D Our daughter in Orange is trying to get us to move there as there is a lovely house across the road from them and she says she can then help me with John..Only problem is the other 2 children think I would be better moving nearer to them so its stay where I am..Anyway John couldn't cope with the cold winters in the other places..snows in Orange and Canberra and son is 15 minutes away here is Sydney so he wins for the time being.. :-D :-D :-D
Might try and get John out to lunch today to a nice pub not far away..so we will see.. I am hoping to get some help with the housework soon so hope that gets sorted..I am getting very tired..Take care all and stay well and mind those backs..
Fred Love the new kitchen and could you stand the stove on a small kitchen cupboard so that you wont have to bend so far down..or raise it off the floor about a foot..somehow..lovely stove..would like one like that..but a bit worried about your back..My back had gone out in sympathy with your back I think...or it could be the lifting of John when he has a fall...

Have a lovely weekend all..

Love Mary xxx <3

PS Fred Just had another look at the stove,and it would not be level with the bench top if you raised it up ..beautiful stove but do be careful when using the bottom oven..bend zee knees as they used to say when I worked in the hospital :-D :-D :-D

Just a quick one before i take the missus out shopping ,'ere and me arn't on the best of terms this morning after i found out that she want's to go to the sons before we come home afterwards grrrrrrrr :-| .
I was going to do the kickboards yesterday ,while i was at a loose end ,but she said no ,leave it until tomorrow when the weather is nicer ,so ,rather than argue the toss ,i agree to leave it.
Having sprung the trip to the sons on top of the shopping ,i am now going to be tied up until dark this evening ,women ,huh ,i ask you, enough to drive a man to drink at times , [here ,the men are supposed to nod and agree with me ,lol] :-| .
Yep ,i did think of the oven door so close to the floor Mary ,but the wife wanted the top of the oven in line with the benches ][women again ] he he ,but seeing as the main fan oven will only be used when we have company for a meal ,it will only get used once in a while ,the other .top oven being big enough to do a meal for 3 or 4,i went along with it to keep the peace.
Hope we are all enjoying a nice weekend ,and Mary you stay where you are old Buddy ,John couldn't hack the cold with his complaint ,if the kids want to see you ,let 'em to the travelling , time for ALL of us oldies to let younger people do the running around ,i say.
Be back later everyone ,need to be off for now ,Fred. :-D .xxx

Good Monday morning all, The snow is here to stay so Edith is happy. Just love the white world for a few days.
My balcony is all decorated for the season,just have to turn on the lights and
enjoy.
Mary I would love to send you some snow,but packaging it is a bit of a problem :-D If i figure out a way to do it I will let you know. !!!!
Fred, are you finished those cupboards yet? Methinks you need a pointy stick to use on your son :-) Having sons of my own I know how (un)helpful they can be.However if a handout is needed they expect it "now".
I guess Les is under a pile of aprons somwhere, hope she can sell a few and see daylight again :-D.
My friend Chloe(the cat) is loving the snow as well, she gets out on her balcony and bats it about.Looks like she is trying to make a snowman. She will only go inside when her feet get wet and then as soon as her feet are dry she is wailing to go out again :-)Gotta love animals !!!!
Time for my porridge so bye for now. Edith <3

hi there Edith ,soooo glad you are enjoying your snow [brrrrrr] but i can quite happily go a while longer without it.
The son seems to be a little tied up with work ,and seeing to his partners needs on top of it ,so i thought ,bu***r it ,got the jig saw out ,a set square ,and my trusty pencil and got stuck in.
The whole kitchen is now finished,kick boards and worktop bench trims,and i must say ,it looks a bit of all right .
As soon as we got in from the weekly shop ,we went out back ,all wrapped up ,opened the greenhouse and set to,the result is ,the rubbish bin is full,of all the tomato haulms, ,the buckets empty and stacked in the corner,leaving the floor space clear for the Nectarine tree.
Outside i have taken up the last of the beetroot,and they are at this very moment simmering in a big pan ,yum
Teas tonight is some belly pork roll wrapped around stuffing ,small roast tatties cabbage leeks in cheese sauce ,and hot beetroot ,smashing.
Three days to go .and we are off to Fleetwood for the week and this time the missus has her own dongle ,so there is no fight over the laptop ,as we each have our own, bliss ,no more argie bargie ,lol .
This time too ,we will be able to relax and get up late ,the site is now shut to holiday makers ,owners only ,no noise ,bliss again ,just what we need to charge our batteries for the winter.
Had a letter from the demolition company today as well ,they start work on Monday this next week so the work will be finished well before spring ,and rebuilding won't start until 2016,and the place they are starting knocking down won't be built on until at least 2020,so come this next spring there will be green field to the left ,and the next to be built on ,and new field to the right ,there until 2020 ,utter bliss again woohoo.
I will be out front in the morning to take a couple of pic's for posterity ,he he,and will take a couple more when the clearing is finished.
I do hope Les' has had more luck with her apron sales this time ,its a long way to travel ,to have things go wrong.
Off to get Hissy her tea ,before she attacks my toes again [little perisher ] ,catch you all later on ,Fred :-D, <3 xxx

Hi Guys, well I had a very fun weekend, lots of laughter. They were a great bunch to be with, slightly different folks this time but...none of us made a million. Lots of looky loos and not a lot of spenders. I sold enough to cover the cost of the table and my gas. and that was about it. Am going to rethink my aprons. I may just make the really fancy ones and then add some other products to my line. I like doing craft fairs and I like making stuff...but there has to be some money in it for me.

We had a storm blow thru the area where I was on Friday and it left a little snow behind. It was balmy here in Port but the highway friday night was slippery. I think I followed behind the sander so it was OK. It was down below zero last night and is at about 1 degree at the moment but sunny.

Speaking of building we have just heard that there are plans in the works to build a huge homeless shelter across the road from us complete with a huge treatment centre for drug users etc. Time to sell. We did try a little earlier this year and then changed our minds but come January I will be at this house like a white tornado, paint brush in hand and we are out of here....hopefully!!

So I may do a bit in the garden today. Put on my woolies and do a bit of raking and pruning. Maybe I will put the slow cooker on and that is taken care of too.
Later Lesxx

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick note as I am on my lunch break from work.

Les, I was thinking of you and your aprons just yesterday when I saw a lovely apron in a shop here. This apron though, had buttons at the waist to detach the top and just have a short pinny. The shop owner said she was having trouble keeping them in stock as they were that popular. Maybe something for you to think about.

My news is that Bob will be having a bone marrow transplant next month. He is set to go in to the hospital around the 7th of Dec which kind of sucks because his 60th birthday is on the 9th. The transplant is tentatively set for the 15th. He will most likely be in for Christmas so we will postpone our celebrations until he is home. They have suggested that they may let him home for the day but since we don't live in the city it is not likely. Altogether he will probably be hospitalized for a month or so. My sister is doing a birthday party for him on Saturday.

Must run back to work.
Love to you all
Teresa

Hi Teresa ,nice to see you again,hope the bone marrow transplant for Bob goes ahead on time ,and that it does all that is hoped for ,a bummer ,as you say at Christmas ,but hey ,it's more important to have the main man seen to ,and well ,before anything else.Tell you what ,we will hold ours back too ,until Sean comes home from Afghanistan in March ,when we will to ,feel more like a celebration .
I heard about the Canadian Memorial being flown home from there too to be re erected on Canadian soil and have to say ,a brilliant idea and well thought of,and thought i would mention it on here ,so many people ignorant of the fact that there are other lads in Afghanistan like Canadian ,Oz And New Zealand ,Troops ,not just Brits ,
The Canadian lads, tour expired ,came into Akrotiei air base in Cyprus ,as we came in from Newcastle ,and everyone there stood up and welcomed them home so to speak .a very spontanious touch which somehow seemed very fitting ,and well deserved.
A nice suggestion as regards Les's aprons as well ,a dual purpose garment for kitchen use is a darned good idea and may decide to give it a go.
Time for me to get cracking ,Liz twisted her knee yesterday and i had to help her up the stairs last night ,,either she has put weight on lately ,puff puff . or i am getting older [or both] but i nearly had palpitations as we both got to the top of the stairs ,lol,and i had to sit on the bed for a couple of minutes before i came back down for the drinks'
Catch you later peeps Fred :-D xxx